....... I used the barnes one year because the gun I was using only liked them. I shot a doe at 200 yards with the barnes and it only punched a small hole going in and a small hole going out, no expansion . No blood trail and it was behind the front shoulder right where I wanted it to go........

With ANY bullet, shot placement is vital, even with a round ball. Agree 100% with that. I've shot over 200 deer with Barnes, know many other hunters that shoot them and have hunted with them for years. That said, I believe you're the first person I've heard from stating that a Barnes failed them and possibly indicating the shot was perfect. I'm in no way questioning your shot or your ability to call your shot but, I've shot many at 200yds and slightly beyond, all with pass through bullets , excellent exit wounds and blood trails you could follow being color blind. Two last year. I also shoot hundreds of rounds every year, with 4,000 one year. Barnes will expand reliably down to 1,000fps.

Its very rare that I ever recover a bullet after harvesting a deer. I do have a couple but, if I can get these photos loaded, these show one a buddy recovered. He took a doe with this, that offered only one shot, full frontal. The doe never knew it had ever existed and dropped on the spot, range approximately 180yds. Bullet stopped just prior to exit on the rear under the hide. He shoots a V1 Accura, 110grs BH209 and the bullet is a Barnes 250gr TMZ.

I've have used the 250sst for the past 10 years or more and have never had an issue. I used the barnes one year because the gun I was using only liked them. I shot a doe at 200 yards with the barnes and it only punched a small hole going in and a small hole going out, no expansion . No blood trail and it was behind the front shoulder right where I wanted it to go. I found the deer a week later doing another small drive through the timber. I couldn't find the deer from the week before because we ran 20 to 25 deer through the timber and couldn't get on the trail. The 250sst might explode on impact like some have said however I have not had that issue. It does a good job of tearing stuff up and making sure you have a good blood trail to follow. I would rather have a blood trail to follow than two holes on a deer.

With that all said I believe it all depends on shot placement, every bullet works some prefer barnes over sst or vice versa. IMHO, I don't believe the all coper bullets expand well (unless you prefer high shoulder shots) therefore the sst works better for me. This year I will be pushing them at 2600fps and we will see what they do for me at that speed.

Good luck and remember it is about shot placement.

Which Barnes did you use? I have used the 300 Gr. versions with the huge Hollow Point & 290 gr. with the poly tip. My brother has used the 290 tipped & the large HP 250 gr. & all with great success & extreme expansion for a ML at least.

But I have not tried the ML bullets that are not tipped & with the small HP's.
I am curious.

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But I have not tried the ML bullets that are not tipped & with the small HP's.
I am curious.

The Barnes MZ (no polymer tip) is a deep penetration bullet and IMO should be shot at higher velocities to get complete expansion. They obviously won't expand as quickly as the Expander (large hollow point) or the TMZ (tipped). The Expander is the much better close range bullet, which would be my preference for 100yds or less, with extremely rapid expansion. I've shot many deer with the Expanders, the 300gr, out of one of my .54 Knights. They'll just hammer them, leaving large exit wounds. But, after shooting the different Barnes, I've settled on the 250gr TMZ. Now in most cases and I believe especially with a centerfire, the boattail bullet shouldn't make that much difference to just 200yds. But, I've found that its been my best 200yd bullet, both for accuracy and reliability out of my muzzleloaders. Barnes are quickly becoming the bullet of choice for many Michigan agricultural area hunters, where long shots over picked fields are becoming the norm.

Well, I took a doe last night with the 300 grain scorpion. 100 yard shot, she was quartered away hit her back about the last rib and exit in off side shoulder. It was an easy 40 yard tracking job. Exit hole was not very big but internal damage looked very good. I think they are atleast worth another shot.